07 Nov VETERANS DAY AND NFL “TEAMWORK, TONE, TENACITY” (T3) LEADERSHIP: PAT TILLMAN

NFL Football Player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman was born 11/6/1976.  Corporal Tillman served in Iraq 2003  and was tragically Killed In Action in Afghanistan 2004, the first NFL player to perish in combat since Vietnam.  His inspirational style:

• TEAMWORK:  At Arizona State, Pat was the team MVP and PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year.  He was patriotic. While an Arizona Cardinal, enlisted in the Army at the end of his fourth season following 9/11, remembering his great grandfather who served at Pearl Harbor.  Pat said in an interview, “I play football, and it just seems so goddamn unimportant compared to everything that has taken place.”   He passed on a new $3.6 Million, 3-year contract with the Cardinals. By comparison, his starting pay for an Army Specialist was approx $20K per year.   

• TONE:  Pat always demonstrated an intense loyalty to his teammates and beliefs, on and off the field.   He turned down a $9 Million, five-year contract offer from the rival (then) Saint Louis Rams out of dedication to the Cardinals.  Pat left his wife Marie a “just in case” letter that said, in part, “Through the years, I’ve asked a great deal of you. Therefore it should surprise you little that I have another favor to ask. I ask that you live.’’  Marie founded the Pat Tillman Foundation which provides scholarships for veterans and their spouses. She remarried and is a mother of five. 

• TENACITY:  Sacrificed money and the security of a successful career to put on a different uniform and serve our country when we were under attack.  He knew what he wanted to do with his life and tirelessly ran toward his passions and that goal, disregarding criticism that he was crazy to do so. 

On Veterans Day – and everyday – we remember and thank you,  Corporal Pat Tillman. 

– Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is a leadership expert.  He is the CEO of The Becker T3 Group, a platform for his motivational and national security keynote speaking. A former Naval Intelligence Officer, he’s successfully led large, diverse, high-performing teams afloat and ashore in peace, crisis and combat.  In 2016, The Naval Intelligence Community established “The Rear Admiral Becker ‘Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity Award for Leadership” in his honor